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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22503136">La Saint-Valentin</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OwlFae/pseuds/Jacksin'>Jacksin (OwlFae)</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OwlFae/pseuds/OwlFae'>OwlFae</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Chameleon Fix It because I hated Chameleon. [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cute little prompts, Day 2 love, Day 3 Flowers, Day 4 Secret Admirer, Day 5 hearts, Day 6 crush, Lila roleplay can still eat my socks, Multi, Short stories that interconnect, Sorry all the anons who want to comment but cant. i love and appreciate yall, Valentine's Day Fluff, day 1 candy, it's valentine's day babey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 18:16:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,386</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22503136</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OwlFae/pseuds/Jacksin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OwlFae/pseuds/OwlFae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cute little prompts I saw on Tumblr! It's my first time doing one of these so let me know how you like it! </p><p>https://wearemiraculous.tumblr.com/post/190082723093/miraculous-valentines-prompts</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Nino Lahiffe, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur, Nino's Mother/Nino's Father, Sabine Cheng/Tom Dupain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Chameleon Fix It because I hated Chameleon. [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1508198</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Candy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Marinette was making sweets and candy in the boulangerie and patisserie. It wasn't an uncommon sight, but today she wasn't making treats to sell. She was making treats to give to her two boyfriends. She was making heart-shaped macarons and red caramel-coated apples. She was also making small chocolate truffles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette loved her boys terribly so. She was humming along to Frank Sinatra's L.O.V.E while wiggling excitedly. Tikki flitted around her excitedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, Marinette! Adrien and Nino are going to love these!" The tiny goddess of creation exclaimed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I hope so! I'm making their favorites. But I am going to have to keep these a secret from them and I'm terrible at keeping secrets." Marinette lamented, momentarily stopping her task. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tikki nuzzled her chosens face. “I’ll do my best to help you keep it a secret!” Tikki chirped, sneaking a macaron. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette pretended to not notice Tikki sneaking a macaron. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Later on, Tom and Sabine came to check on Marinette who was still hard at work making Madeleines and preparing dough for fruit tarts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Marinette, darling, you’re going to overwork yourself, sweetie.” Her mom chided gently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I won’t. La Saint-Valentin has to be perfect for them.” Marinette huffs, wiping a flour-covered hand on her forehead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tom smiled at his daughter's work ethic. But his wife was right. Tom gently moved her away from the workbench and kneeled down to get eye to eye with her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sweetheart, I’m sure they won’t be that focused on the details. They’ll love what you make, mistakes and all.” Tom said smiling softly at his daughter who looked dead on her feet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette nodded sleepily. Tom picked up Marinette and carried the small girl upstairs, placing her gently on the couch and covered her with a blanket, gently kissing her on the forehead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A while later, Marinette woke up and went upstairs to work on the suits she was making for Adrien and Nino, humming along to Clara Nightingale's newest single. Her mother watched from the trapdoor, sighing at her daughter's antics. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next morning when Marinette woke up at her desk and went downstairs, she noticed that what she was making had mysteriously been completed and her parents were flopped on their bed, not even having bothered to change into their night clothing.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien was out with Nathalie, shopping for candies and gifts for his partners. Nathalie was also looking for candies for Gabriel. Strictly as a personal assistant giving a gift to her boss who she had no romantic feelings for. None. No feelings for her boss whatsoever. Nada, zip, zilch, non, nope, nothing there that wasn’t strictly business. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien was walking the aisles with Nathalie looking lost. He didn’t know what to get Nino and Marinette. Knowing Marinette, she was making their gifts herself and Nino was probably making a playlist for them. Adrien felt like he was failing them, buying their gifts instead of making them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Penny for your thoughts, Adrien?” Nathalie asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien sighs. “Knowing Nino and Marinette, they’re making their gifts. I just feel… incompetent buying their gifts when I could be making their gifts like they are.” Adrien pouted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, it wouldn’t quite be making a gift, but you could  do a valentine’s photoshoot for the two of them.” Nathalie suggests. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien’s face lights up excitedly. “Yes! That’d be perfect!” Adrien all but yells. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nathalie sweatdropped and muttered some quick apologies. Adrien flushes in embarrassment and dips his head in a quick apology. Adrien speedwalks to the heart-shaped boxes filled with expensive-looking chocolates. It was Goddessiva and was 306 euros. Adrien looked to Nathalie who nodded her approval and the chosen of destruction grabbed the box and the two walked to the cash register and paid for it. For a while, the two roamed around the mall and then came across the Seize candy store. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two entered and walked around for a while, browsing the selections of candies and chocolates. Adrien’s face illuminated upon seeing a 1.8-kilogram box of chocolates. It was perfect. Adrien looked to Nathalie who could only blink. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adrien, sweetie, who in their right mind would eat that much chocolate?” Nathalie asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Marinette.” Adrien answers honestly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nathalie sighs, knowing he’s right. That girl could pack food away for days. The PA sighs and gives her silent approval. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Later that night, Nathalie purchases Chocopologie chocolates from Denmark for 2343 euros. They were incredibly extra and Gabriel would love them.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino was wandering around the first arrondissement, looking for the candy shop his father had recommended. Eventually, Nino found it. Edwart Chocolatier Concorde. His father had sworn by it and its where he got chocolate for his mother every year. Nino stepped inside, looking around a bit nervously. The advice his father had given him was clearcut. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Don’t get them what YOU’D think they’d like. Get them what you KNOW they like. You can never go wrong by listening to your heart my son. Now go woo those two.’ </span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino laughed softly, keeping his father’s advice in mind. He looked at one box in the La Saint-Valentin case. It was pink and advertised cherry blossom chocolates and sesame seed pralines. Nino knew he had to get it for Marinette. It was so… her. It screamed Marinette in all of its essence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next one that popped out to him was the green one that advertises minty and tea flavors along with some citrusy flavors. It, like the one for Marinette, just screamed Adrien to Nino. It was just too perfect. It even had some striped chocolates that reminded Nino of Adrien’s shirt. Nino knew that this was too perfect. Nino purchased the two for a combined total of 42 euros. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino got home with his purchases in hand and went up to his room. His father smiled all too knowingly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Nino made it up to his room, Wayzz popped out from his pocket excitedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, this is so exciting! It’s been so long since I’ve had a holder who was actively courting! Are you doing anything else for Adrien and Marinette?” Wayzz asks excitedly, sipping on his leftover green tea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, dude. I’m gonna make a playlist for us. It’ll be great! It’ll have the songs that represent us and our relationship. Some parts of our relationship have been crazy, but it’ll be amazing!” Nino exclaimed and then quickly set to work building a playlist for them and their relationship. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wayzz sat on the little pillow Nino had fashioned for him watching his chosen, work happily, humming along to the melodies that he loved. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>There's all kinds of different love.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Nino, Marinette, and Adrien were out on a date. This was a weekly occurrence for the trio. They were going on a picnic. They had anime-themed dates which were always fun for them. This week's theme was Ouran High School Host Club. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette was dressed up like Fujioka Haruhi. She was wearing a pink spaghetti strap dress over a white long-sleeved shirt and wore chunky sandals with some cute wool pantyhose. She also had beaded hair ties in her hair to complete the look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien was cosplaying as Honey-senpai and was wearing a blue bowler shirt over a pink long sleeve top and blue cargo pants with some simple sneakers. He was wearing brown contacts for the sake of not being bothered while he was out with Marinette and Nino. He completed the cosplay with carrying around a pink rabbit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino was cosplaying Mori-senpai and was wearing a long-sleeved beige sweater over a black T-shirt and brown slacks, wearing some very well-loved brown boat shoes. He also wore dog tag style necklace and was carrying the picnic basket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This week was special for them. Because this Friday was La Saint-Valentin. They were still working on their gifts for each other but these were secrets from each other. It would be the first of many Valentine's Days spent together for the trio. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, they reached their spot in the park and set up the blanket and set out the food. Marinette’s mom, Nino’s mom, and Nathalie had all made the food for their picnic. Marinette excitedly pulled out Beef Bao made by her mom, then the shawarma, hummus, pita, tahini, tzatziki sauce and tabbouleh salad made by Nino’s mom and finally the caramelized onion and mushroom Croque-monsieurs Nathalie had made. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This week it was Nino’s mother’s turn to help make the bulk of their picnic basket. The kids had wanted to do it themselves, but after their first failed attempt at that, their mothers or mother figures had taken over. The three didn’t dare speak of it but still grumbled about it occasionally. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Remind me to thank your mom for all of this food she made.” Marinette said between bites of her shawarma.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien agreed, already on his second helping of Shawarma, nodding happily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino laughed, planting a kiss on Marinette’s cheek after wiping off the incriminating remnants of tzatziki sauce. Nino chuckled when he looked at Adrien’s face that may have been made messy accidentally on purpose. He wiped his face too and planted a kiss on his cheek to match Marinettes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette and Adrien beamed, both planting a kiss on either side of Nino’s face. If you insulted Nino in front of either of them, they would go on angry rants about how that person is wrong and then list everything that they loved about Nino. Nino had never felt more loved. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino smiled at those two. Soon enough they were finished with their lunch and they’d packed up their picnic. They wandered around the park for a while and then they spotted Andre’s Sweetheart Ice Creams. This was a great date. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah! Bonjour, Bonsoir! Hello, you three! How is your relationship going?” The stout man asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s going great! Can we get some ice cream?” Marinette asks excitedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Andre nodded just as eagerly, setting to work selecting flavors for the three lovers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Caramel for his lips, Pistachio for his eyes and Blue Coconut for her hair! Eat this and you will have abundant love to share!” The portly ice cream maker exclaims happily. He gives all three of them their cones and Adrien pays for the ice cream. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three bid Andre goodbye with a wave and happily eat their ice cream. Marinette and Adrien take turns feeding Nino who was carrying the picnic basket. They make it back to Marinette’s house to drop off the basket and leave with promises of doing the dishes when they get back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three continue with their date. Marinette was in charge of planning their date today and to celebrate the upcoming La Saint-Valentin, she was taking them to some of the most romantic places in Paris. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You two have your Metro cards, right?” Marinette asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien and Nino nod, completely unsure as to what Marinette had in store for them. But they guess it has to do with a lot of traveling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great! Come on! We’re going on an adventure today! The first place we’re going is Butte Montmartre. You know that one scene from Amelie? We’re going there!” Marinette exclaims. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two have incredibly soft smiles and just nod in agreement, scanning their MetroCards when they arrive at the metro station. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They take the RER Line A to Paris Gare de Lyon and then board the Line 14 train to Madeleine and once in Madeleine they board the line 12 train to Lamarck - Caulaincourt. Finally there after an hour of transit, they begin the 8-minute walk to Rue de La Bonne and then walk through Square Marcel Bleustein Blanchet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three hold hands, and Marinette smiles excitedly when they arrive. Excitement takes over her features and Marinette sits on the stairs, off to the side smiling happily. Adrien and Nino sit next to Marinette enjoying the stillness of the moment.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is beautiful, Marinette. But why are we here?” Adrien asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad you asked, Adrien. Maman help me put together a list of the most romantic places in Paris while trying our best to avoid cliche and too touristy.” Marinette giggles excitedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aww! Bugababe! That’s so sweet! But you do know we’re going on a date on La Saint-Valentin, right?” Nino asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m aware! But you’re the one planning the date by default, I have to one-up you and romance the heck out of you!” Marinette beams so brightly, Nino has to fight the urge to put on his sunglasses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien laughs at his boyfriend and girlfriend because it’s absolutely precious. They were both meticulous planners and Adrien was more go with the flow. So sometimes, the two turned their date planning into a competition.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette and Nino are still having a faux fight and soon it’s quickly resolved with a kiss on the forehead. Adrien takes out his phone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you wanna take a photo?” Adrien asks, almost shyly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That would be perfect! We can take pictures of where we go all afternoon!” Marinette chirps happily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien sets up the little tripod for his phone and sets it on auto mode and it snaps a photo of the three of them, smiling brightly on the steps. Nino was in the middle and gave the two bunny ears while they were giving a peace sign to the camera. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette looked at her watch and blinked and then quickly got her stuff. “As fun as this is, we need to hurry up because our train leaves in… uh… 5 minutes and the station is… half a kilometer away.” Marinette whines. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino facepalms and Marinette takes off her sandals, getting ready to run. Adrien groans at this, half playfully and half exasperated. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Buginette, I love you, but you need to keep a better eye on the time,”  Adrien says, wrapping his arms around her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette pouts at this. “I know. I’m getting better at it! It’s just so magical and so perfect! Now, we need to go!” Marinette makes sure to punctuate the fact they had to go. Her shoes were in her hands and her phone was in her bag. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette bolts in the direction of the station as do Nino and Adrien. They make it there in record time with 2 minutes to spare and board the number 12 line headed towards Notre Dame de Lorette. They take a seat on the metro, panting. Marinette puts back on her sandals and sinks into the seat. Nino takes the time to pat Marinette’s head and she leans into the touch. Adrien rested his head on Nino’s shoulder and let out a soft groan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mari, I love and appreciate you, but please. Never do that again.” Adrien whines, sitting up and kissing Nino on the temple. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette whines, sinking further into her seat. “I know! I’m sorry.” The chosen of Creation whines. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino chuckles good-naturedly. “I guess we got our daily exercise in. M. Ange would be proud of how fast we ran to the station.” Nino says, adjusting to get comfortable as Marinette lays her head in his lap and he begins carding his fingers through Marinette’s hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien has taken to resting his head on Nino’s shoulder once more. Nino leans against Adrien who lets out a soft noise of contentment. The trio stays like that for the rest of the way. Once they arrive at the station, the three get up begrudgingly and shuffle out of the station to the next station which is a 5-minute walk. Once they get to the station and find the platform for line 10, they get on the train and take their seats to Mabillon station. The train sets off with some creaks and groans and it rattles onwards to Mabillon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They get to Mabillon and get off with renewed vigor and Marinette sets off to a tea shop with her boys in tow. L’Heure Gourmande was a quaint little shop that didn’t see much business. They step inside the shop and smile at the warmth permeating the shop, which is a bit different from the mild winter outside. Paris was having an unusually mild winter. But the Parisians took it in stride, enjoying the warm winter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three-place their orders for their mugs of hot chocolate and scones. They laughed quietly as the foreigners seemingly struggled with placing an order. Nino paid for their hot chocolates and scones. They’d asked the waitress to take a photo of them and she happily agreed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once full, they left the cozy tea shop and set out on a walk to the Pont des Arts bridge. After a brisk 7 minute walk, they got there and Marinette pulled out a padlock with their initials on it, encompassed in a heart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mari, you win La Saint-Valentin,” Nino said, mock bowing to a queen. Marinette laughed softly and pressed a kiss to his cheek.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh shush, I’m sure you have something even better planned,” Marinette said, looking for a spot to put the lock on. Marinette found the perfect spot and walked over to it, Nino and Adrien following. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette pressed a kiss to the lock and handed it to Nino. Nino pressed another kiss to the lock and then handed the lock to Adrien. Adrien smiled fondly and pressed the final kiss to the lock and handed it back to Marinette. Marinette opened the lock and attached it to the fence on the bridge and handed a key to Nino and Adrien while holding onto her key. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ready to throw the keys?” Marinette asks, all too excitedly. Nino and Adrien both give a nod and with that, the three toss the keys to the padlock into the Seine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you two wanna know something?” Adrien asks, fighting the smugness that comes with telling a pun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” The two ask, in unison. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m in-Seinely in love with both of you!” Adrien exclaims, a permanent smile carved into his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette and Nino both groan along with an exclamation of ‘Dude! Really?!’ The three walk back to the station and begin the trek back to Marinette’s house after the obligatory picture was taken with their lock on the bridge. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they got back and washed the dishes, the three fell asleep in the living room all snuggled up in blankets. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Adrien checked his phone later, he saw a photo of him, Nino and Marinette, all crashed on the floor, sleeping comfortably. Plagg was unusually quiet about how ‘disgustingly in love’ they were for once and if Tikki and Wayzz asked if he’d taken the photo, Plagg would deny it for the rest of time, hiding a fond smile at the memory. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Flowers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nathalie has a secrettttttttttt.<br/>Gabriel comes to some conclusions.<br/>Marinette and Adrien are too helpful for their own good.<br/>Nino has nothing to do with the Adrienette shenanigans.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Adrien, Marinette, and Nino were currently huddled around Nathalie’s desk, Marinette and Adrien wearing some frankly mischievous smiles there were too knowing for Nathalie’s liking. Nino stood off to the side, shaking his head at them.  Her eyebrow twitched, while continuing her work, or more accurately, attempting to continue her work. Finally, Nathalie slowly looked away from her desktop and looked at the teens over her glasses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can I help you three with something?” She asked, trying not to sound nervous. Those three knew something about her, and she didn’t know what it was they knew. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep! Can you answer a question for us?” Marinette asked. Nathalie loved spending time with Marinette, she really did. But now, she knew what Marinette was going to ask. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It depends on the question.” Nathalie said, answering evenly as she could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you have feelings for Father?” Adrien blurted out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nathalie sighed and looked at Marinette. “You enlisted them in your cause, haven’t you? And you used the one person I can literally never refuse answering, to get your answer.” Nathalie was almost impressed. The keyword being almost. It felt like she was being questioned by Ladybug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did! Now we want answers!” Marinette said with a small giggle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nathalie rolled her eyes in exasperation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I have feelings for your Father, Adrien. The business kind of feelings. He’s nothing more than my boss.” Nathalie answered, feeling a slight pang of guilt for lying to Adrien. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien gave a smile that knew too much again and brought out a folder, labeled: </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>Nathalie Sancoeur has romantic feelings for Father and she just lives in a constant state of denial.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nathalie squawked at the folder, feeling her cheeks light up. “Adrien! That’s highly inappropriate!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien pretended like he couldn’t hear her and opened it up, pulling out a piece of paper, with a very familiar chocolate order. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Personal Assistants don’t buy their bosses €2343 chocolates from Denmark, Nathalie! You’re a liar and if you deny it, I have all of your recent search histories too!” Adrien said with a Cheshire grin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nathalie deflated and sunk into her chair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what if I am in love with your father, Adrien? Your father is a very busy man and he’s still in love with your mother. I can keep our relationship professional. I’ve already made my peace with it.” Nathalie says, sounding defeated. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So it means Father can maybe move on from Mother finally. Mother’s… gone. I know Father loved her so much, but it’s been a few years Nathalie. Father needs to move on and you have feelings for him, maybe he won’t accept them, but I know it’s not good to keep your feelings bottled up.” Adrien said rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, his voice dropping in volume. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nathalie stood up and walked over to Adrien, capturing him in a hug. “Adrien, there’s so much you don’t understand right now. I’m sorry, but I can’t be with your father. My job would be on the line.” Nathalie was now kneeling to be at eye-level with Adrien and his partners. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, for now, can we please keep this between the four of us?”  Nathalie asks, eyes pleading. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three teenagers nod, looking a little sad and a twinge guilty. Marinette and Adrien went upstairs and Nino hung back a minute. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For what it’s worth Nathalie, I tried stopping them. But Adrien also has a point, it’s time for his dad to move on, dudette.” Nino said, walking upstairs with the folder in hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nathalie sighs, knowing full well that Adrien has a point. Gabe needed to move on, but how could he? He was now a magical terrorist who used butterflies to turn people into villains to go after some magical jewels with the power to grant any wish. The entire notion of this sounded like a plot from a children’s show. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it wasn’t. This was their real life and it was frankly insane. Nathalie put her head down on her desk, groaning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gabriel emerged from his office, looking over the white marble banister at Nathalie, with an indecipherable expression. Nathalie had her head down and he knew she was in a weakened form since using Duusu. Gabriel walked down the stairs and went to go check on Nathalie when a folder caught his eye. The designer turned supervillain grabbed the folder silently.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had Adrien’s handwriting on it and it read: </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span class="u">
      
      <span>Nathalie Sancoeur has romantic feelings for Father and she just lives in a constant state of denial.</span>
    </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Gabriel blinked a few times, walking upstairs with the folder in tow, thumbing through its contents. Some receipts for expensive gifts he’d received anonymously with Nathalie’s information on said receipts and some interesting search history from Nathalie’s computer. The one that stood out the most, however, was: </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>How do I get over my crush on my boss?</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gabriel smiled sadly, guilt thrumming in his chest. He’d done this, hadn’t he? Gabriel wanted to accept his wife was gone like Adrien had accepted she was gone. But he couldn’t bring himself to accept Emilie was gone. Not yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And now, look at this mess. He couldn’t deny that he felt something for Nathalie too. But it was complicated, as most things in life were.  Gabriel sighed, hiding the folder. He went into the security feed and deleted footage of him taking the folder, so he could have plausible deniability. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gabriel walked downstairs once more, to see Nathalie working at her desktop as if nothing had happened. Gabriel had wondered if it would be cruel to return Nathalie’s sentiments. He stared at the too-big house for just him and Adrien. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, an idea had struck Gabriel like a bolt of lightning. He approached Nathalie, hopefully no more different than he always had. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nathalie,” Gabriel spoke, after convincing himself his mouth hadn’t felt like it was full of cotton. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Sir?” Nathalie asked, looking more impartial than normal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would you like to move in? I find it highly impractical you drive halfway across Paris just to come into work early. We have more than enough space for you.” Gabriel asks, fidgeting with his hands behind his back, his nervousness releasing itself through his fingers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sir, are you sure? It seems somewhat inappropriate.” She says, looking down at her keyboard, trying to keep herself from matching the red streak in her hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you going to do? Complain to HR? Nathalie, I am HR.” Gabriel says, attempting to make a joke. The joke lands thankfully, causing Nathalie to chuckle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll… think about it. Can I decide by the end of the week?” She asks, with another gentle chuckle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course. I look forward to hearing your answer by the end of the week.” Gabriel says, staring at Nathalie, noticing a loose piece of hair had come undone from her business professional bun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gabriel smiles inwardly and leans over the desk and tucks the stray piece of hair behind her ear. The designer felt his ears heating up and Nathalie had a small blush spreading across her face, making her freckles stand out. He had never noticed her freckles before now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mothman, as dubbed by Chat Noir, cleared his throat and excused himself. Gabriel shut himself up in his office and sat in one of his chairs and put a pillow over his face in pure mortification. Why had he done that?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Downstairs wasn’t a much better situation. Nathalie stepped outside briefly into the courtyard and let out a shout of embarrassment and then went back inside and situated herself back into her chair, groaning inwardly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien was having Nino and Marinette spend the night, on the condition he keeps his door open. So the three were plotting in a group chat and once their plotting ceased, the three of them nodded in agreement. Marinette went to go ask Gabriel for help with her La Saint-Valentin gifts for the boys. Nino and Adrien went downstairs to help Nathalie with some stuff. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette knocked on the door to Gabriel’s office gently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pardon me, M. Agreste?” Marinette spoke up shyly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There lay M. Agreste in a chair, with a pillow over his face, slowly lowering it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, What can I do for you?” He asks, doing his best to neaten his hair again and smoothing out his suit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was wondering, if you’re free for a while, would you mind helping me straighten out these pattern pieces?” Marinette asks, pulling out a bag with pattern pieces for what appears to be a 4 piece suit and 5 piece suit. The colors remind him of- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Castlevania?” Gabriel speaks the final thought aloud. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette flushes and nods. Gabriel lets out a soft laugh and quickly gets up to pull out a photo album. He flips to a page labeled, </span>
  <span>‘Halloween 2014’ </span>
  <span>and in the photo, Gabriel dressed up as Vlad Tepes, Emelie as Lisa Tepes and Adrien as Alucard Tepes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gabriel was wearing a long wavy black wig and fake black goatee plus black mustache with vampire teeth and red contacts with pointed ears. Emelie wore blue contacts and had styled her hair to mimic Lisa’s. Adrien was wearing gold contacts and long, wavy blonde wig with fake vampire teeth as well. His skin tone was made a few shades paler, looking almost paperwhite. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The biggest detail was the clothing, Gabriel had made the costumes himself and it was very obviously his work. From the clean stitching to the impeccable and crisp lines. It was beautiful. Gabriel wore a high collared white shirt with a ruffled 3-tier cravat with a gold metal snake holding it in place. He wore a beige waistcoat over the white shirt and a black suit coat over the beige waistcoat. He wore gray slacks and black heeled boots to fully complete the look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Emilie was wearing a white gown that had touched the floor and had a scooped neckline with a ruffled hemline that was off the shoulder. The sleeves were white organza held in place with gold cuffs. Her waistline was cinched in place with a buttercup yellow satin sash that was tied around her waist, pulled into a bow. She wore a gold locket with the dress and white flats. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien was dressed up as a somewhat older Alucard. He wore a version similar to his father's costume, the only difference being instead of it being black and beige, it was grey and gold. He didn’t wear an overcoat or slacks as his father had. He wore a light grey long-sleeved shirt with a ruffled cravat held in place by a golden cat. He wore a darker grey waistcoat with golden buttons. His shorts were charcoal grey and he wore a black belt with a golden buckle. He wore calf socks held up by garters hidden by the shorts. He wore simple black mini heeled shoes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette looked at the costumes in awe. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You made all of the costumes… How beautiful.” Marinette complimented. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. I still have them. I’ve never had a reason to wear my costume again after Emilie… left us.” Gabriel said quietly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette put a gentle hand on the man's arm in a comforting gesture. Gabriel gave an appreciative smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“However, we’re not here to talk about the past. Who’s getting what suit?” Gabriel asks, doing his best to snap himself out of the memories of Emilie. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adrien is getting Alucard. For obvious reasons. Nino is getting Trevor Belmont. I think it’d be a good way to let him get loose for once.” Marinette says. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not a bad plan honestly, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.” Gabriel praises. All through the afternoon, they work on pattern pieces, editing and fixing the pieces and picking fabrics other than the muslin fabric she was using for the mockup pieces. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, Gabriel gets the gall to ask Marinette what he’d been meaning to ask. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pardon me, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. I need to ask you something I think someone your age is more experienced in. You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to, but, uh, how do you know if you like someone?” The 43-year-old asks, trying his best to maintain a professional air about him. He doesn’t quite know if it’s working. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The face splitting smile that breaks out on Marinette’s face is proof enough that she is more than prepared to answer that question. Her smile seemed… too knowing. It was unsettling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does this have to do with a certain assistant downstairs?” She asks, her smile threatening to grow bigger. Gabriel rubbed the back of his neck and his ears turned red. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This caused Marinette’s face to grow even wider. “It does! Okay, well. Does your heart feel like it’ll explode when you’re around her?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Explode?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well yeah, because it’s beating so fast?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah. To answer your question accurately, my heart rate does speed up around her.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you find little things she does that might be looked over as insignificant to others, cute or adorable to you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know about that one entirely. But occasionally she bites on pens when she’s very focused on a task at hand or sometimes she twirls her hair around her finger while drinking tea and watching the news.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s a yes. Moving onto the next one. Do you ever do anything that’s embarrassing to you? Like, mess up your words, awkward movements, getting tongue-tied?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Earlier a piece of her hair fell out of her… Mlle. Dupain-Cheng can you please leave while I have an existential crisis?” The Widower asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette nods, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. A very muffled scream is heard through the door, followed by a string of curses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Later that evening, Gabriel doesn’t come down to eat, so Marinette brings him his cold dinner and leaves it on his desk, while Gabriel is looking at shops that allow him to customize flower arrangements. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next day, Nathalie comes into work with a flower arrangement on her desk from an admirer who’s unknown to her. In the arrangement the flowers are as follows: </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ambrosia</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bittersweet</span>
</p><p>
  <span>White Camellia</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Forsythia</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender Heather</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Purple Hyacinth</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hydrangea</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonquil</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Calla Lily</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Orchid</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pink Roses</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue Variegated Tulip</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peach Carnation </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was also green foliage sprinkled throughout the arrangement. No one had known where the flowers had come from except Gabriel and was in a good mood all day, just happy with the fact that Nathalie was smiling all day. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/flowers/flowers.html</p><p>&gt;:3 for those who want to decipher the meaning behind the bouquet. Some flowers have multiple meanings so have fun figuring it out! Feel free to comment what you think the flower bouquet means!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Secret Admirer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I often don't get to share the little scenarios for Nino's parents who are my OC's, so this was a good remedy! </p><p>DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a Muslim in any: way, shape, or form. All of the information I got was from a long day of googling and writing it down in my notebook. If I got ANYTHING wrong, please correct me because I mean absolutely no disrespect, and I'm doing my absolute best with my research.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Amirah Lahiffe knew something was amiss in her house when she woke up. For one, there weren't any loud voices filling the apartment. Her oldest wasn't complaining loudly about La Saint-Valentin in Arabic to his father and her youngest wasn't demanding that terrible sugary cereal for breakfast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No. It was silent and unsettling. Silence was beautiful in the right moments. Morning time was never the right moment. Mornings were meant to be loud and hectic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amirah knew that La Saint-Valentin was quickly approaching. She never understood the novelty of it. Growing up in Syria, they didn't celebrate such a holiday. February 14th was just another day for them. So when she'd met her husband Abbas and he got her a gift for the day, she was confused. He was a non-practicing Muslim. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>According to Abbas, life was too short to not celebrate the small things in life. Yes, he celebrated Eid, Ramadan, Al-Hijrah, and Prophet Muhammad’s birth, but he also celebrated the more commercialized holidays, like La Saint-Valentin, Fete Nationale, Mardi Gras, Victoire 1945, and the holidays honoring your parents. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amirah was amused nonetheless. He loved using these days to celebrate with their family. Abbas wasn’t born in the middle east like she was. Abbas was born in Marseille and moved to Paris when he was 18 to attend Université de Paris. He grew up celebrating these holidays and was familiar with them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amirah admittedly wasn’t fond of the holidays. She didn’t see the point in spending money on meaningless gifts that were shallow. The only holiday she would even admit to somewhat enjoying was La Saint-Valentin, because her husband got her chocolates from her favorite chocolate shop every year. That’s as far as their La Saint-Valentin went. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So when the house was silent and her husband wasn’t in bed with her, something was wrong. Amirah put on her slippers and set out to find the source of the silence. When she got downstairs, she was stunned into silence. Christopher was sitting and eating breakfast quietly, Nino was listening to his music, putting his school things into his bag and Abbas was leaning against the counter, drinking his tea and Amirah’s was kept on the cup warmer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was quiet and she was in awe. She went and grabbed her tea, kissing her husband on the cheek. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How’d you manage this, Abbas?” Amirah asks, taking a sip of her earl grey tea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have my ways love.” Abbas said like he was a cat slinking around the question, or her 16-year-old son pretending like he wasn’t the turtle hero Tortue de Mer. She knew her son in and out of the suit. So she knew exactly what he’d done. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You gave him that sugary cereal didn’t you?” She asks with a smirk and Abbas mutters a curse in Arabic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do you always know?” He asks in disbelief, pressing a kiss to her temple. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m a mother and a wife, I know everything.” Amirah chuckles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino kisses his mother and father goodbye when his ride shows up and with quick I love yous to them both and him making Christopher promise to behave, Nino disappears into the cold morning, slipping into the car. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amirah smiles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have such good sons, Abbas.” Amirah says, resting her head on his shoulder. Abbas wraps an arm around his wife, rubbing her upper arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We do. Though, I wish we had a beautiful daughter to complete the set.” Abbas says with a grin that was too smug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amirah smacked him on the pectoral with a gentle laugh. “Absolutely not! Our hands are full with a 5-year-old, Monsieur!” She says, laughing and pulling his head down to kiss his forehead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abbas laughs good-naturedly. “Darn. Sorry Chris, I tried.” Abbas says and Chris pouts and continues drinking his juice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amirah quirks an eyebrow and goes over to the table and sits in the chair next to her 5-year-old. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chris, habibi? Is there something you want to tell Mama?” Amirah pries gently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chris looks into his bowl of cereal pouting, nodding slightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wanna be a big brother like Nino! He’s the bestest big brother an’ I wanna be jus’ like him!” Chris exclaims. Amirah swore she felt her heart squeeze a little bit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know babies are a lot of work, right? They’ll cry a lot and they’ll need a lot of attention from Mama and Papa. They also smell really bad and sometimes they’ll throw fits for no reason.” Amirah says, cleaning up the table a little bit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This didn’t deter Chris though. “Then I’ll pray really hard to Allah for a baby that’s good!” Chris says, eyes shining. Amirah laughs and picks up Chris, covering his face in kisses. Chris makes a face, trying fervently to wipe his face of the kisses.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mama I’m a big boy! Big boys don’t need kisses! Kisses are for babies!” Chris protests. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see. Papa is a big boy and he still gets kisses.” Amirah says with a raised eyebrow. Abbas sits next to Amirah and Amirah covers her husband's face in kisses. Abbas returns the favor and covers his wife’s face in kisses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chris makes another face and an exclamation of ‘Gross!’. The 5-year old grabs his bag for kindergarten and tugs on his Dad’s shirt. Abbas smiles, standing up and picks up Chris who clings to his father like a koala does to a eucalyptus tree. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two walk out of the apartment to head to drop Chris off at Ecole. Amirah stands by the window watching them walk up the street and turn around the corner to the direction of his Ecole. Amirah sighs inwardly, cleaning up the table and then gets ready for the day and opens up the convenience store.  She had a lot to think about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abbas was walking his son to Ecole. Chris was running ahead of the man with a bookbag that seemed too big for him. Abbas worried about his wife sometimes. Amirah was strong and hard-headed. But she was also apprehensive about having a daughter. They’d discussed this when they first got married. Abbas had asked if they’d had a daughter if she would adhere to the dressing standards for Islam or if she would forge her own path with Allah. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amirah had said if they had a daughter, what she wore and how she dressed was between her and Allah. Their household was a bit strange. Abbas was a non-practicing Muslim while Amirah was a practicing Muslim. They left it up to the boys if they had wanted to attend Mosque or not. Nino was never interested in attending the Friday Services. But Chris was enamored with attending.  Amirah would take him to the Friday services and Abbas would escort her to the Mosque and wait outside for Chris. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the services were done, they’d walk back and Chris would cling tiredly to Amirah. Nino would have dinner made for when they returned and they’d sit and talk about their days. Abbas was quickly snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Chris trying to cross the busy street. Abbas ran as quickly as he could and picked up the 5-year-old and hit the signal for the crosswalk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What were you thinking habibi? You know better than to cross the street without the light!” Abbas chided worriedly. Chris lowered his gaze and mumbled an apology. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know you are. Please just wait for Papa? I know you’re in a rush to grow up, but can you be 5 when we’re crossing the street, please?” Abbas asks, ruffling his sons’ hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chris fussed about his hair trying to make it lay back down, like Adrien’s hair. Abbas laughed, still holding his son in his arms as they crossed the street. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, do you still want to be a big brother like Nino after what Mama said?” Abbas asks, setting Chris down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep! I wanna be the bestest big brother ever!” Chris said, jumping over the cracks in the sidewalk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sometime’s Allah doesn’t always hear our prayers, you know? He has so many prayers to answer, he might get to your prayer a little later.” Abbas says. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then me and Manon will pray super duper hard!” Chris says in what can only be classified as an outdoor voice. Abbas sighs at his youngest son's antics. He was glad his son was so idealistic, but blessings oftentimes were curses when pushed hard enough. Abbas, however, had a plan in mind to woo his wife. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abbas dropped Chris off at school and hugged his son goodbye, telling him to have a good day and Amirah would come get him at noon. He didn’t know if Chris had heard that last part because he was already halfway down the hallway. Abbas bid goodbye to the secretary at the front desk and walked back to the apartment. On his way home, he stopped in a flower shop and placed an order for some red roses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He then continued to walk back and got a bracelet he’d ordered from the jeweler he knew since he first moved to Paris at 18. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Imran! Is the bracelet ready?” Abbas asked cheerily. The man behind the counter gave a small huff of laughter, amused by how happy the man could be at 08:07. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is. What’s got you in such a good mood? Is Amirah still unaware of your plans for La Saint-Valentin?” Imran asked, squatting down to grab the bracelet from the box of finished orders. What Abbas hadn’t known was that Imran included a free necklace to help the wooing of Amirah. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Completely unaware! I had to lie to her though and told her I gave Chris that cereal she hates him having. The boys are in on this even though Nino will be out on his own date with his partners.” Abbas said, still cheerful. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Imran laughed. “Of course you would tell your wife such a lie. How are Nino’s partners? He’s dating that designer girl and model boy, right?” The man asks, setting the cases on the glass display case. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They are well. Marinette is interning under Adrien’s father and Adrien is learning how to be a functional member of society. That boy has never done a dish in his life. My friend, I didn’t pay for a necklace.” Abbas says, looking very confused.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t, however, I figured you wanted to woo her completely. So I may have factored half of the price of the bracelet into the necklace. It’s still simple, but look at it yourself.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bracelet itself was beautiful rose gold with a small rose quartz heart charm, an Eiffel tower charm that was the same rose gold, a shell carved from a pearl, a pink spinel star charm and a rose gold chocolate bonbon charm. All of the charms had a special significance to Abbas and Amirah. The Rose Quartz is for the first time they’d ever met. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were in a market in Morocco. They were both at a jewel store and the same Rose Quartz had caught their attention. They both went to grab it and Amirah’s father quickly swooped in, grabbing Abbas’ hand. Abbas had spent hours apologizing, while Amirah found it funny. The Pearl was from their first-ever date. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’d gone to the aquarium and afterward, they’d gone to the beach and found a clam that’d been opened by the seabirds and inside was a pearl. They’d kept the pearl and it sits in on their dresser next to a photo from their wedding along with the Rose Quartz Abbas had ended up buying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Eiffel tower was where Abbas had proposed to Amirah, after 4 years of dating. He had proposed with, “Eiffel for you in Morocco, so would you please marry me in Paris?” Amirah cried on top of Paris’s iron lady and said yes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Pink Spinel star was for Amirah’s favorite stone. She loved how vivid the pink was in Pink Spinel. The star was for how she was like a star to Abbas. The chocolate bonbon was self-explanatory. Amirah had a sweet tooth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The necklace was made from the same rose gold and on it was a rose gold heart locket, and written inside was, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>‘To an amazing wife and mother, who I vow to love for eternity.’ on the other half of the heart was a picture of Abbas with Nino and Chris. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s more amazing than I could’ve asked for, Imran. Thank you.” Abbas says, tears welling up in his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re welcome. Now, go woo your wife a third time.” Imran says rolling his eyes good-naturedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abbas pockets the two jewelry boxes and bids his friend goodbye. Imran sighs watching his friend leave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amirah, you should let the man keep some secrets you know.” Imran says into the phone laying on the display case. Amirah laughs on the other end, a melodious sound. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose I should. But I do not know what they look like, so I am letting him keep some secrets.” Amirah says with another laugh, bidding Imran goodbye and hanging up. Imran laughs, knowing she’s right. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abbas gets home and quickly hides the boxes in his underwear drawer and goes downstairs to sit and watch the shop with Amirah. She kissed her husband on the cheek and handed him a small gift, wrapped in heart wrapping paper. Written on it was: ‘To, Abbas. From, Your Secret Admirer.’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abbas cocked an eyebrow at his wife and opened it. Inside was a pregnancy test that read ‘Enceinte.’  His wife had given him a positive pregnancy test with a smile that was too smug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Amirah asks with a smile that reaches her eyes. It takes a few moments for it to finally register for Abbas and then when it does, Abbas lets out a whoop of celebration and hugs his wife tightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re sneaky my darling wife! Very sneaky!” Abbas says excitedly, kissing his wife’s face all over with a smile that’s threatening to take over his entire face. Amirah laughs and kisses his chin while wearing her own smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did I do the whole ‘Secret Admirer’ gimmick correctly?” Amirah asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You did! I knew you’d come around for La Saint-Valentin!” Abbas teases, hugging his wife closely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose I did. But I would like double chocolate for it.” Amirah says laughing gently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re getting triple the chocolate my love!” Abbas says, excitement thrumming through his veins. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Nino, Marinette, and Adrien returned from school with Gustav and Nathalie in tow, Amirah and Abbas broke the news to Gustav and Nathalie. Congratulations were given to them and then Amirah noticed how the Secretary was wearing a smile of her own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s got you so happy today Nathalie?” Amirah asks with a smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Someone gave me flowers today. They’re a beautiful arrangement, but I have no idea who they’re from.” Nathalie laments. Abbas, Amirah and Gustav all share a look of ‘Really?’ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s such a shame. They didn’t even leave a card.” Nathalie mopes with a lovesick smile and sits on the couch in the living room. Amirah sits next to Nathalie and gently pats her on the back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Abbas my love, the secretary is as dense as she is beautiful. That is to say, very.” Amirah says in Arabic. Abbas laughs, holding his sides. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My guiding star, it’s not nice to talk about others behind their backs in another language.” Abbas chides. Nino walks into the room, wearing a little smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s right and she should say it. How does the secretary not know they’re from her boss? He even asked her to move in! Mama, they’re so dense it hurts! My bug and Kitten are trying to push them together because even they know they’re both dense!” Nino rants in Arabic while making tea for himself and Marinette. Once he’s done making tea, he pours a glass of juice for Adrien. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chris had padded downstairs after waking up from his nap at some point and tugged on Gustav’s coat and the gentle giant picked the 5-year-old up. Abbas falls to the floor cackling while Chris sits in Gustav’s lap very confused. Amirah lets out a snort and then chides Nino and reminds him to bring the glasses back down. Nino gives a two-finger salute and takes his leave, heading upstairs with the drinks on a tray. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nathalie and Gustav are somewhat confused but don’t question it. Chris however, has lots of questions. He had a lot of them, but couldn’t remember most. This one was one he could remember because it just came up in the conversation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“M. Gustav?” Chris asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bulky man lets out a small hum. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s it mean when someone is dense?” Chris asks. Gustav lets out a snort of laughter while Amirah and Abbas both look mortified. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Usually when they say someone is dense, it means they don’t see the obvious thing right in front of them.” Gustav explains. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! So is Mlle. Nathalie dense because she doesn’t know that the flowers are from M. Gabriel?” The 5-year-old asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abbas and Amirah both let out snorts of laughter and Nathalie stares at the 5-year-old boy like he had just found the holy grail. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gustav just nods and Chris leaves it alone and makes Gustav carry him around so he can show him what he did in school. He’d already shown Amirah and Abbas. Nino was busy with Adrien and Marinette and Nathalie was having an internal crisis after she’d just had a revelation pointed out by the 5-year-old. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next morning when Amirah awakes, the house is loud once again and Amirah smiled, getting ready for the day.  </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you guys liked it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Hearts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Admittedly, I'm somewhat at a loss for this one, so enjoy it being a sorta song fic?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Marinette laughs excitedly. La Saint-Valentin is rapidly approaching and she was going to shower her boys in gifts and sweets all week when she isn’t pulling all-nighters working on their suits and her dress. She was admittedly stretching herself a little thin but she couldn’t bring herself to care. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>  -            </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What would I do without you and your smart mouth?  Drawing me in and you kicking me out. You got my head spinning, no kidding, I can’t pin you down. What’s going on in that beautiful mind? I’m on your magical mystery ride. I’m so dizzy, don’t know what hit me, but I'll be alright. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette spun around happily making breakfast, tea and coffee. Marinette never minds making them breakfast or drinks, because truthfully she felt like it was the least she could do. Marinette has always struggled with anxiety and was taking medication for it, but sometimes she just… forgot to take her medication. Which is bad and she knows this, but there are so many more things she has to do that doesn’t involve taking her anti-anxiety medication. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My head’s underwater, but I'm breathing fine. You’re crazy and I’m outta my mind. ‘Cause all of me, loves all of you. Love your curves and all your edges. All your perfect imperfections. Give your all to me, and I’ll give my all to you. You’re my end and my beginning. Even when I lose, I’m winning. ‘Cause I give you all of me and you give me all of you. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette knew it wasn’t worth the reprimand from Nino and Adrien, but for the last week, she’d been… busy. There were suits to be designed and confections to be made. Marinette needed everything to be perfect for their date. Marinette worried if it wasn’t perfect, they’d hate her and leave her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How many times do I have to tell you? Even when you’re crying, you’re beautiful too. The world is beating you down, I’m around through every muse. You’re my downfall, you’re my muse. My worst distraction, my rhythm, and blues. I can’t stop singing, it’s ringing in my head for you. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tikki was always reassuring her that wasn’t true, but sometimes Marinette couldn’t bring herself to believe it. So she worked hard through the nights after patrol and crashed for 5 hours which was enough to leave her functional for the day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My head’s underwater, but I'm breathing fine. You’re crazy and I’m outta my mind. ‘Cause all of me, loves all of you. Love your curves and all your edges. All your perfect imperfections. Give your all to me, and I’ll give my all to you. You’re my end and my beginning. Even when I lose, I’m winning. ‘Cause I give you all of me and you give me all of you. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So here Marinette was, running on 5 hours of sleep and slightly manic energy, making breakfast, coffee, and tea. She was going over to Nino’s after school today so she wouldn’t be able to work on the date suits but she could work on other things. Like cards and poems, well into the night. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Give me all of you. Cards on the table, we’re both showing hearts. Risking it all, though it’s hard. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>School seemingly dragged on forever for Marinette. She had finished all of her classwork for her classes and bid goodbye to M. Fell and M. Crowley who she saw in the parking lot. She slid into the backseat, saying hello to Gustav and Nathalie. Nathalie was still wearing the same smile she wore that morning when they had picked up the secret heroine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My head’s underwater, but I'm breathing fine. You’re crazy and I’m outta my mind. ‘Cause all of me, loves all of you. Love your curves and all your edges. All your perfect imperfections. Give your all to me, and I’ll give my all to you. You’re my end and my beginning. Even when I lose, I’m winning. ‘Cause I give you all of me and you give me all of you. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nino and Adrien came out of the school a few moments later after grabbing something from Mx. Voler’s classroom. The two slid in and Marinette kissed both of them on their cheeks and then flew into a mental anxiety storm of planning things out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino watched his girlfriend carefully and sighed inwardly. Nino texted Adrien that tonight they were making Marinette take a break for one night and that she probably hadn’t taken her anxiety medication in a while. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette’s hands twitched anxiously and she settled for drumming them along her thigh. Nino saw this and took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. Marinette smiled gratefully at Nino and rested her head on his shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they got upstairs to the apartment portion of the building that housed the convenience store, Nino took the two up to his room and got to work on homework with them both. After a while, Nino went downstairs and heard his parents talking and knew immediately butts into the conversation with a smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s right and she should say it. How does the secretary not know they’re from her boss? He even asked her to move in! Mama, they’re so dense it hurts! My bug and Kitten are trying to push them together because even they know they’re both dense!” Nino rants in Arabic while making tea for himself and Marinette. Once he’s done making tea, he pours a glass of juice for Adrien. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino grabs Marinette’s spare bottle of medication her parents had given to him and pockets it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Habibi, listen to your father, it’s not nice to talk badly about others in a language they don’t understand.” Amirah chides gently. “Also, when you’re done bring the glasses back down or the Djinn will come and steal something from you.” She reminds him with a teasing tone in her voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Mama. Marinette probably hasn’t taken her medication all week so I have it with me so I can try talking her into taking it.” Nino says, heading towards the steps with the drink tray. Amirah gives a small nod of acknowledgment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino leaves the room with a two-finger salute and heads upstairs with the drinks, sighing inwardly again when he sees Marinette anxiously working in her idea book. Nino looks to Adrien. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How long has she been like this?” Nino asks, knowing full well Marinette can’t hear them when she’s this spaced out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pretty much since you left to go get drinks. I’ve tried talking to her but her head is totally in the clouds.” Adrien laments. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great. So she hasn’t taken her medication all week which pretty much confirms what I thought. I have her medication with me so hopefully, we can get her to take it.” Nino says, moving towards Marinette with her drink. He sets it down in front of her and that gains her attention, admittedly spooking the girl and sends her falling backward onto the floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ow.” Marinette hisses in pain. Tikki zips out worriedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Marinette you have to be more careful and you have to take your medication!” Tikki says, zipping around her chosen worriedly. Wayzz and Plagg fly out as well. Adrien and Nino both smile seeing their Kwami’s come out from hiding. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I concur with Tikki, Marinette. You have to take your medicine.” Wayzz says, settling on the French-Chinese girl’s head. Nino nods along with what Wayzz says. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Plagg is much more… blunt in his delivery, simply because Plagg is much more blunt with his worry. “Bug take your medication and listen to Sugarcube and Oolong. Also, listen to your boyfriends too. Just ‘cause it makes your anxiety go away doesn’t make you cured of anxiety Buglady. You’re gonna hafta take it every day.” Plagg says, settling on her shoulders and purrs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette looks down into her teacup and pouts. “I know that Plagg. It’s not that I stop taking it because my anxiety stops. I’m just really bad at remembering to take it. Plus there are more important things than taking one pill. I can afford to miss a day or two.” Marinette says drinking her tea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino raises an eyebrow at his girlfriend. “When was the last time you took your medication? No lying Mari.” Nino says, sitting next to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette has to think about this. Today was… Monday. She started making her suits and Dress on January 23rd. Today was the 10th. Their date was on Saturday and she’d spent all of Friday afternoon working on pastries and suit designs Sunday she spent all day at Adrien’s. She and Nino went home that night when something had come up after dinner and then fought an Akuma for 2 hours. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino sighs. “If you can’t remember sweetheart it’s a sign to take it.” Nino says, handing her the pill bottle. Marinette pouts childishly, but takes the pill anyways. Marinette leans against Nino and grumbles. Adrien kisses her forehead and leans on Marinette. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“M’lady you’re wonderful but sometimes you suck at remembering to be a functional human being.” Adrien says idly, carding his fingers through her hair, he has an arm wrapped around her waist lazily, and his chin rests on her shoulder.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette melts into the gentle touches from Adrien and sticks her tongue out at him. Nino laughs and gets changed into some more casual clothing, not really caring if they saw him changing his clothing. He changed into some comfier blue tartan pajama bottoms and a baseball t-shirt that was green and creme colored. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino sat back down next to Marinette, freeing Adrien so he could change into some comfier clothing as well. Nino held Marinette in his lap, covering her face in kisses and whispering calming phrases to her, helping her unwind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien was a little more self-conscious than Nino was. So he’d opted to change in the bathroom and when he came back, he was wearing a black tank top that was hemmed in lime green and gingham patterned pajama bottoms that were a similar black and green. The two boys finally convinced Marinette to change into her pajamas and she left for the bathroom. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once they heard the bathroom door shut and confirmed there was no Marinette in the hallway they got to talking about her worriedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is she gonna be okay?” Adrien asks, leaning on Nino. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know she’ll be fine Doll.” Nino hums, scooting closer to Adrien. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s good. I wish Marinette would take better care of herself.” Adrien laments. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me too. But that’s why she has us. So we can be here to help take care of her when she forgets to take care of herself.” Nino hums, kissing the crown of Adrien’s head, helping his tension disappear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They hear the bathroom door open and Marinette shuffles in, looking dead on her feet but much more comfortable in her pajamas. She was wearing a too big ladybug patterned shirt she stole from Nino and a pair of buffalo check patterned pajama bottoms she’d stolen from Adrien. She was a clothing thief, but neither of them minded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette made sleepy grabs for them both and the two stood up and helped her to the bed and made her the middle spoon and cuddled her as the three of them fell asleep until they were called for dinner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Plagg had taken another picture that he would also deny taking for the rest of eternity, despite Tikki and Wayzz watching him take the photo. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you liked it! The upload schedule will be a little wonky because I'm bad at remembering to write and update. So this will be finished when it's finished. But this should be finished before the month is out!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Crush</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Truth or dare!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Marinette, Nino, and Adrien were all sitting around the coffee table in the living room in Nino’s apartment. Amirah and Abbas had taken Chris upstairs to read him a story and break the news to him that he was going to be a big brother like Nino. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three sat downstairs playing a milder version of truth or dare. Mostly dares with the occasional truth thrown in. It was Marinette’s turn as chosen by Nino. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lovebug, Truth or Dare?” Nino asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Truth. I’m not doing another dare </span>
  <span>àiren. Why would you dare me to eat an entire spoonful of mayonnaise?! That was so gross!” Marinette whines. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because it was funny. Anyways, when did you realize you had a crush on me and Adrien?” Nino asks curiously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette laughs because she knew both moments exactly when she realized she had a crush on both of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay. So the first time I realized I had a crush on Adrien was Adrien’s first day of school. He was apologizing for the gum incident started by our resident brat and it was raining so I was just waiting for the rain to clear up so I could walk home. So we got to talking while he was waiting for Gorilla to come get him. Adrien gave me his umbrella and it closed on me, which was really fun now that I have time to look back on it. But when our hands touched, thunder crashed in the background. Nino I’m telling you, it was like a scene from one of those tropey romance films or fan fiction.” Marinette swooned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino laughs, pressing a kiss to Marinette’s cheek and then another kiss to Adrien’s cheek. “That really does sound like something straight out of a movie or book. So it was just love at first sight for you, huh Mari?” Nino asks leaning on his boyfriend. Adrien had no qualms with it and just hummed happily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep!” Marinette chirps popping the ‘p’. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino sinks into the gentle ministrations of Adrien’s fingers against his scalp. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now for Nino. You’ve always been a little complicated. Because we’ve been friends since we were babies. So these have been on and off again crushes. The first time was… Ecole? We were like 9. Chloe was being a brat and then you kinda just told her do knock it off and leave me alone, then you shared your lunch with me.” Marinette hums in thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino laughs because he knows exactly what she was talking about. “Then you followed me around for three weeks after that just clinging to me and getting jealous when the other girls tried talking to me!” Nino laughs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so the second time was our first year of collège. We were in different classes that year. I was in Mlle. Mendeleivs class and you were with Mlle. Bustier. So anyways, Chloe poured her drink all down the front of my dress and you gave me your jacket I could wear until I could go change. I was just. Head over heels for you for like… 3 months?” Marinette hums in thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino chokes on his saliva and groans. “Marinette! I wish you'd told me sooner! Because that was the beginning of my two-year crush on you!” Nino whines and leans back into the couch, covering his eyes and groaning even more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien pats Nino’s shoulder sympathetically and takes this opportunity to blow a raspberry into Nino’s neck, causing Nino to laugh so hard he starts crying. Adrien smiles proudly and admires his work, for a short while before getting met with a pillow to the face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette giggles and clears her throat. “The final instance was when we transferred to Voltaire. It was in the middle of the court hearings and you were just… there for me. It was nice. It was right after I’d given my statements for the court and Alya had to be removed for cursing up a storm and she called me… names. I was crying and Adrien was giving his statements for the court. You were there and you held me while I cried. I think I was already crushing on you earlier than that, but I was having trouble admitting to myself I liked both of you. I think that was the first time I admitted it to myself.” Marinette says, now fiddling with the hem of her stolen shirt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette lets out a squeak when she’s suddenly picked up by Nino. “I’ll keep comforting you every time too. I’ll always be here when you need me to be.” Nino says, pressing a kiss to his girlfriend’s face. Marinette smiles adoringly and then does something she’d been meaning to do for a while. Marinette grabs Nino by the face and presses a chaste kiss onto his lips. Nino almost drops her if it weren’t for Adrien who caught her almost immediately. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette giggles at their now short-circuiting boyfriend who literally had to take a seat, and just sat there in stunned silence. Marinette decides to make it a two for two combo and looks at Adrien with a mischievous smile and then kisses him just as chaste and as quick as she had done to Nino. Adrien dropped Marinette onto the couch with his face now lighting up a deep red and sits on the floor in shock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette giggles at her boyfriends and then quickly runs upstairs and steals one of Nino’s hoodies and one of Adrien’s blankets. Legend has it, those two items were never seen again by the two boys when they finally managed to comprehend what had just happened. When they went upstairs, they found Marinette curled up in Nino’s bed asleep. Adrien and Nino slept in the living room as per Nino’s parents' rules. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, what they didn’t know didn’t hurt them when Nino and Adrien found themselves in the middle of the night they were severely lacking in vitamin MDCC. Marinette Dupain-Cheng Cuddles. The two boys were early risers and got to work making pancakes in the shapes of hearts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amirah and Abbas were almost impressed, only they knew that Nino and Adrien had snuck back upstairs after a certain little brother ratted them out. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm a filthy liar. I didn't sleep and still haven't slept. It's 08:42 on a Thursday in February and it's freezing, but have I slept? Absolutely not. This is my third cup of coffee in a span of 2 hours.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So the chocolates I mentioned in Nino's portion are true! I was browsing through google looking up chocolate shops in the first arrondissement or near it, and I stumbled across the website for the chocolate shop and checked it out. It was too perfect. I couldn't resist! As always! Tumblr is owlfaeandspace! I don't think it's available to non-Tumblr uses so you have to have a Tumblr account to view my page. Sorry!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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